1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally cellular wireless communication systems; and more particularly to a wireless communication system having an architecture that is scalable to compensate for loading levels, able to service any subscriber distribution and compliant with existing standards of operation and in which signaling messages specially routed to servicing system components based upon the content of the signaling messages.
2. Related Art
Wireless communication systems are generally known in the art to service wireless communications within a service area. The construction of a wireless communication system typically includes a plurality of base stations dispersed throughout the service area. The base stations couple to base station controllers (BSCs), with each BSC serving a plurality of base stations. Each BSC couples to a mobile switching center (MSC) that also couples to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and to other MSCs. Mobile units operating within the wireless communication system establish communication with one or more of the base stations. The structure of the wireless communication system is hierarchical such that the load served by the base stations is routed via a predetermined path through a designated BSC to a designated MSC.
When the resources of the wireless communication system are insufficient to service load in a particular area, not all call requests will be serviced. Such insufficient capacity causes calls to be dropped, calls to be blocked and produces an overall degradation in system performance. Failing to service customers results in the loss of customers as well as a reduction in the revenue that would otherwise be generated by servicing the calls. Thus, it is extremely important to service as many calls as possible so that subscribers remain with the service provider and so that revenues are maximized.
System capacity may be limited by various components within the system. For example, base stations may become overloaded and fail to service subscribers requesting service. In such cases, as load grows within a particular portion of the system, additional base stations are deployed to handle the additional traffic. Likewise, when a number of base stations connected to any BSC provides overloads the BSC, additional BSCs are deployed to service the increased load.
MSCs also may become overloaded. The central processing unit and switching capacity of an MSC may only support a maximum level of traffic, messaging and overhead processing. As the capacity of existing MSCs is exhausted, additional MSCs must be introduced into the network. Of course, in the initial deployment of a system, an overall goal is to support the highest number of subscribers with the smallest infrastructure, typically including only a single MSC. This initial deployment not only minimizes the initial cost of deployment but reduces the networking overhead that results from subscriber mobility.
When an MSC (or multiple MSCs) serving a system become overloaded, additional MSCs must be deployed. In deploying additional MSCs within a system, the area served by the system is typically geographically partitioned to equalize loading among the MSCs. As the number of deployed MSCs increases, each served area becomes smaller and the number of boundaries between serving MSCs increases. The additional boundaries cause an increase in subscriber mobility between MSCs, the subscriber mobility consuming additional MSC CPU capacity. Resultantly, as additional MSCs are added within a system, the marginal benefit of each MSC deployment is reduced as the total number of deployed MSCs increases.
Further disadvantages of deploying MSCs relate to the partitioning of the service area. In determining where partitions between MSCs should be placed, an expensive and time consuming study is performed in an effort to equalize loading among MSCs in a manner which minimizes mobility overhead. Then, based upon the study, the system infrastructure must be physically altered and reprogrammed according to the partition. Such operations cause the system to be inoperable for periods of time during which subscribers are not served. Further, due to the difficulty in implementing the partition, system operators generally do not exactly implement the proposed partition which results in unbalanced load and reduced capacity.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a system and associated method of operation which allows additional MSCs to be deployed within a wireless communication system so that system capacity is increased accordingly and so that added overhead in system operation is minimized.